Partner / Prime Consortium Playbook

1 · Why this playbook exists

DEFONEOS can bid independently on 14 HIGH-fit procurement windows (tick 97 procurement master schedule), but for windows requiring:

• UK SC / NATO SECRET clearance at scale
• Established prime-channel relationships with MOD procurement
• Multi-decade prime track record on classified programmes
• Substantial balance sheet to underwrite large contracts
• Existing in-country industrial capability

…DEFONEOS needs a prime consortium partner. This playbook is how DEFONEOS engages those primes without compromising sovereignty.

2 · The 4 consortium structures

3 · The 12 named primes (with engagement posture)

4 · The 5 engagement stages

5 · The 12 red-line protections (negotiated at every consortium)

1. IP ownership — DEFONEOS retains 100% of DEFONEOS-developed IP (weights, MCPs, sovereign substrate)
2. SEAL ownership — DEFONEOS retains 100% of DEFONEOS-SEAL rights (prime cannot re-issue SEALs)
3. Data sovereignty — buyer data remains in DEFONEOS-controlled tenant; prime has no direct access
4. Model weights sovereignty — DEFONEOS sovereign weights remain in DEFONEOS escrow (NCC Group); prime has no direct access
5. Pricing floor — DEFONEOS pricing floor for sub-work: 75% of standalone equivalent (no race-to-bottom)
6. SIGIL chain integrity — DEFONEOS SIGIL chain remains DEFONEOS-controlled; prime cannot modify or substitute
7. Sovereign ownership — DEFONEOS Ltd UK 16939677 remains UK-sovereign; no forced sale or JV dilution
8. No exclusive lock-in — DEFONEOS retains right to work with other primes on other bids
9. Liability ring-fence — DEFONEOS liability limited to sub-work scope; no liability for prime's separate work
10. Transparency — consortium agreement + key terms public on csoai.org/partners/ (with commercial redactions)
11. Exit rights — DEFONEOS may exit on 90-day notice + good-cause (defined in agreement); no perpetual lock-in
12. Red-line scope — DEFONEOS will NOT participate in bids for kinetic / autonomous lethal / personal surveillance (regardless of prime pressure)

6 · The 4 worked bid scenarios

Scenario A · AUKUS Pillar 2 — DEFONEOS as UK sub to BAE (or US prime)

Window: AUKUS Pillar 2 — AI & Autonomy (deadline 2027-01-31)
Value: £1M - £50M trilaterally
Structure: Prime-lead with DEFONEOS sub (likely BAE UK lead)
DEFONEOS work package: sovereign weights + BFT council + AI-BOM + SIGIL chain
DEFONEOS share: 20-30%
DEFONEOS IP/SEAL: 100% retained
DEFONEOS red lines: NO kinetic / NO personal surveillance (apply)
Bid author: DEFONEOS (technical) + BAE (programme)
BFT review milestone: 2027-01-15

Scenario B · Dstl SERAPIS — DEFONEOS-lead (small)

Window: Dstl SERAPIS — AI Assurance (deadline 2026-10-15)
Value: £100k - £2M
Structure: DEFONEOS-lead
DEFONEOS share: 100%
DEFONEOS IP/SEAL: 100% retained
Bid author: DEFONEOS
BFT review milestone: 2026-09-30

Scenario C · EDF 2026 — DEFONEOS as UK sub to Thales-led EU consortium

Window: EDF 2026 (deadline 2026-12-01)
Value: €1M - €30M per project
Structure: Prime-lead (Thales) with multi-country consortium
DEFONEOS work package: sovereign weights + BFT council + SIGIL chain
DEFONEOS share: 15-25%
DEFONEOS IP/SEAL: 100% retained
Bid author: Thales-led · DEFONEOS as UK work-package lead
BFT review milestone: 2026-11-15
EU partner letters required: at least 1 EU lead signed + 2 EU co-leads

Scenario D · NATO DIANA Cohort 5 — DEFONEOS independent (no prime)

Window: NATO DIANA Pilot Cohort 5 (deadline 2026-09-15)
Value: $100k seed + $1M scale
Structure: DEFONEOS independent (NATO DIANA allows SMEs)
DEFONEOS share: 100%
DEFONEOS IP/SEAL: 100% retained
Bid author: DEFONEOS
BFT review milestone: 2026-09-01
Eligibility: NATO member state SME (UK ✓ via CSOAI Ltd UK 16939677)

7 · The 5 prime-engagement red flags (refuse the partnership)

1. Prime refuses to sign 12 red-line protections (§5) — sovereign compromise unacceptable
2. Prime demands exclusive lock-in beyond 3 years — sovereign independence preserved
3. Prime demands DEFONEOS share sovereign weights or SEAL control — non-negotiable
4. Prime bid scope violates DEFONEOS red lines (kinetic / autonomous lethal / personal surveillance) — refuse regardless of value
5. Prime demands transparency waiver (silent consortium) — public accountability required

8 · The 33-agent BFT council approval workflow

1. VP Commercial prepares consortium proposal (§2 structure + §4 stage 2 qualification memo + §5 red-line assessment + §7 red-flag check)
2. Proposal reviewed by GC for legal red lines
3. Proposal posted to BFT council at csoai.org/bft/consortium/{proposal_id}
4. 5 BD open comment period
5. BFT vote: ≥23/33 quorum required to approve
6. If approved, signed consortium agreement stored at csoai.org/partners/agreements/{agreement_id}
7. Public summary published on csoai.org/partners/
8. Quarterly partner review thereafter (§4 stage 5)

9 · Cross-walk to other DEFONEOS artefacts

10 · The 5 Anti-Patterns (Consortium Disasters We Refuse)

1. No "yes to everything the prime wants." 12 red lines are non-negotiable.
2. No "exclusive lock-in." DEFONEOS works with multiple primes.
3. No "scope compromise." Kinetic / autonomous lethal / personal surveillance = always refused.
4. No "silent consortium." Public summary always.
5. No "consortium without BFT vote." ≥23/33 mandatory.

11 · Applicant Next Steps

1. Verify this playbook hash: curl https://csoai.org/defoneos-mod-partner-prime-consortium-playbook.html | shasum -a 256
2. Browse public partner directory: csoai.org/partners/
3. Request consortium proposal template: partnerships@csoai.org
4. Schedule a 60-minute partnership walkthrough with our VP Commercial.
5. Inspect BFT consortium decisions: csoai.org/bft/consortium/